Ducky Backpacks Don't Mean Love
by MoonStarDutchess
Summary: Riza usually dealt with matters of the heart, but this time it's up to Roy to help his little son deal with his first crush. A Maeve and Maes fic dedicated to Geissbock.
1. The Party

**Ducky Backpacks Don't Mean Love **

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 1: The Party **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist. I do own my kid characters. **

**AN: Pure fluff at the request of a reader. This is dedicated to Geissbock. **

**Another Note: The incorrect grammar in the kid's speech and thoughts is intentional. **

* * *

Maes leaned his head against his hand after he propped his arm upon his desk. He watched as the teacher wrote, Valentine's Day party, on the chalkboard, followed by the date. Maes saw a classmate passing out papers but paid no mind to it when one was placed on his desk. He zoned out as the other kids spoke with excited lilts, only hearing the occasional mention of candy and valentines.

He never bothered asking much about Valentine's Day, and this was the first time one of his classes was going to have a party for it. All he knew was that it was for people who liked each other and wanted to play. His mommy and daddy always went out and then had adult playtime at home while he and Maeve stayed with their Great Gramps Grumman. The next day always left him and his sister confused. When they came home, there were never any messes anywhere. Either the playtime wasn't very fun or mommy and daddy cleaned just as they told him to do when he put his toys on the floor.

His brow furrowed. Did grownups play with toys during playtime, or was it more like playing the card games his daddy played with his uncles Havoc, Breda, and Fuery? No, that couldn't be it. They never joined mommy and daddy during grown up playtime, so the card game couldn't be that grownup. Besides, his uncles were more childish than anyone he knew. Perhaps the adult playtime would always and forever be a mystery.

"Just like the socks the closet bunny took," Maes whispered.

"Bunny?"

He jumped and looked to his right. Panic rushed through him when he saw his friend standing next to his desk. "Ivy, you'd better go sit or teacher will be mad. You don't want her to...scold...you." He'd been scolded by Miss Miyabi before and it was so scary.

She laughed and then held up her panda backpack. "It's time to go home. Were you thinking about the taste of clouds again?"

He shook his head and stood. "No, I asked Maeve about it. Despite that song my mommy likes, clouds don't taste like coffee." Grabbing his notebook and ducky pencil from the top of his desk, he walked over to the snuggeries with Ivy. He got out his coat and put it on. "I was thinking about the Valentine's Day stuff." After putting his notebook and pencil in his backpack, he slung it over his shoulders.

"Are you happy about the party? Everyone is so excited," Ivy said as they walked out into the schoolyard where the mommies and daddies came to pick them up.

"Nope. I'm not excited. It means loud. I hate when things get loud."

"When the teacher told her about it yesterday, my mommy said she'd make cupcakes for the class."

Maes stopped as if something was blocking his way, turned his head, and looked at her with wide eyes. "The cool ones?"

"Yep."

"With the sprinkles?"

Ivy rapidly nodded her head and smiled her toothy grin. "Yeah! The yummy chocolate ones with the creamy filling stuff. She said she might even do different extra special colors!"

"Wow! That makes me really really happy now! You're mommy makes the bestest cupcakes in the whole wide world." He held up his hand in a diagonal from his body and waved it as if waving at the clouds. "And the stars and the other much planet places out there!"

"Maeve said the same thing once," Ivy said and giggled.

Maes folded his arms and raised his chin in the air. "That's because we're twins, and we both know yummy cupcakes when we eat them."

Ivy nodded again, her curls bouncing against her shoulders with the motion. "Yeah!"

"Hi, Maes," a sharp voice said. He and Ivy turned and saw their classmate walking toward them. With every step she took, her black ponytail swung back and forth just like he thought they were supposed to do. It was perfect.

A red tint spread across the apples of his cheeks. "Hi, Claudia," he said softly. She wrinkled her nose at him playfully and giggled as she walked past him. He watched her and decided to say what he'd wanted to say for a while. "I . . . I like your ducky book bag!" As soon as the words left his mouth, he cringed and pictured Maeve slapping him for saying that. He remembered when he saw a man get slapped by a woman because he said she had a huge backpack. _Or was that backside? _

She turned around, her mouth wide with a smile. "Thank you, Mister Maes!" she said and scurried away with her friends toward the limo waiting for her.

Maes signed. "You hear that? She called me Mister Maes!"

Ivy pursed her lips. "Yeah, yeah, I heard."

"I really like her."

"Everyone likes Claudia," Ivy muttered and kicked a gravel.

"Hey! There's my daddy and he's talking to your mommy." Maes grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward the two adults. "Come on, let's go!"

"Slow down, Maes. My legs are shorter than yours," Ivy yelled as she struggled to keep up. He stopped and let go of her wrist. "Sorry, I was just happy to see my dad here."

They rushed over to their parents, Maes skidding to a stop before he ran into Roy. "Hi Dad!" he said. Usually one of his uncles or his aunts, Becca or Maria, came to get Maeve and him because his daddy and mommy had meetings. He was sad sometimes that they couldn't be there like other parents, but they were important people and protected everyone so it was okay.

Roy picked him up and hugged him. "Hi there, Little Man? How was your day?"

"It was good." He looked at the woman beside his dad, smiled, and waved at her. She looked just like Ivy only bigger. "Hi, Missus Ivy's Mom!"

"Good afternoon, Maes," she said. Ivy took her hand and pulled it. "Mommy, you're going to make cupcakes for our Valentine's Day party at school, aren't you?"

"Of course, I told you yesterday that I would."

"Missus Ivy's Mom, you make the bestest cupcakes in the entire of everything."

The woman laughed. "Thank you, Maes." She smiled at Roy. "He gets the complimenting from you, right?"

"That's what Riza tells everyone," Roy said.

Maes would've been mad at the woman for being so friendly with his daddy, but Missus Ivy's Mom liked Mister Ivy's Dad, and his daddy and mommy had known both of them for a long time. He said she used to be military too and went to academy with mommy.

Ivy's mother looked down at her and placed her hand on her head. She ran it gently across the top before resting it there once more. "Time to go home. On the way we'll go to the store and get some ingredients for the cupcakes."

"Okay," Ivy said. She looked up at Maes and waved. "See you tomorrow, Maes."

"Bye, Ivy," he said and returned the wave.

"We should get going too." Roy put Maes down and took his hand. "You're going to come back to headquarters with me today."

Roy took a step, but Maes didn't follow. "We can't yet! Maeve hasn't come out."

"Your mom took Maeve to the doctor today to get her vaccines. She picked her up a few hours ago so she's not here," he said,

"Oh," Maes said. "I forgot she was going to do that. Mommy told me yesterday."

They were halfway to headquarters when Roy said, "Your class is having a Valentine's Day party, huh. You happy about that?"

"I like that Ivy's mom is bringing cupcakes. That's all." Maes stopped and took a paper out of his backpack. He handed it to his dad and Roy read over it. "So the parents are asked to bring something."

"They don't musta have to."

He looked down at his son and handed back the paper. Maes shoved it in his backpack and zipped the bag up. "We'll think of something," Roy said.

"It says we have to give out Valentines," Maes said. Claudia came to his mind along with an idea. His daddy could help him with her.

"You're mom will help you after—"

"No! She can't," he blurted then shirked away a bit. It wouldn't work at all if his mommy went. She was a girl and bought things for boys. He needed his daddy since he bought things for girls. Daddy was a big boy, which meant he was a little boy like him and knew about little girls.

"You always want to go shopping with your mom. Why don't you want to this time?"

"Um..." Maes looked down and to the side while scuffing the toe of his blue sneakers against a dusty crack in the sidewalk. "You buy pretty things for mommy. Mommy is a woman that used to be a girl and umm..."

"Go on..."

"Well, you would know best on how to help me with what to get a little girl that will grow up to be a woman like mommy."

"You want to buy something special for a girl? Other than the Valentine?"

Maes nodded. "I'd give it to her after school so no one else would feel bad for not getting something extra."

When his daddy grinned at him, Maes knew he'd help. But that shouldn't have surprised him since his daddy would do anything for him and Maeve." Okay then, let's go right now. I need a little break before I dive back into all that paperwork."

"Okay!" Maes hugged his leg. "Thank you, Daddy!"


	2. Crushes Past and Present

**Ducky Backpacks Don't Mean Love **

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 2: Crushes Past and Present**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist. I do own my kid characters. **

**Note: The awkward statements and incorrect grammar is intentional in Maes' thoughts and dialogue.  
**

* * *

As soon as Roy and Maes entered the shop, Maes wrinkled his nose in disgust. All the red and pink decorations crowded up the normally neat store. Why couldn't Valentine's Day colors be blue and green? Red and pink looked so ugly together.

Maybe they'd change. From what he heard from other grownups and the story his teacher told, Valentine's Day was a new holiday to Amestris—an old one in a few other countries—that people took to liking immediately. Amestris didn't celebrate holidays like all the other countries around them until his Gramps Grumman became fuehrer. When they were finally brought to Amestris, the people embraced them. His favorite was Christmas.

Roy grabbed a basket in the stand beside the door and looked down at his son. "What kind of valentines do you want to get your classmates?"

Maes shrugged. "I don't know. I never picked them out before."

"What do your classmates like?" Roy asked as he guided Maes over to a large shelf filled with boxes of paper valentines.

"Well, all the boys like cars, except for Ethan. Ethan likes dolls like the girls do. He gets made fun of a lot for it, which is sad. I think if he wants to play with dolls, he should. Don't you daddy?"

"Yes, I do," Roy said.

"Oh! But Trina likes cars and hates dolls. They never let her play with us, but I play cars with her sometimes because she's fun and knows how to build tracks."

Roy kneeled next to Maes and looked at the shelf. "Then you should get a box of car valentines and a box of doll valentines. That way you can choose who to give each to."

Maes gave his dad a quick hug. "You're so smart, Daddy!" He got one of each and put it in the basket. Roy grinned at him. "Now, how about that girl you like? What do you want to get her?"

"Wait, wait, Daddy. I almost forgotted something very important. ."

"And what's that?"

"I almost forgotted Mommy and Maeve!"

"You want to get your sister something?"

Maes looked at him as if he's spoken something unbelievable. "Duh, Daddy. You had a stupid moment. Maeve and mommy are the bestest girls of anyone. I love them."

"What do you say I handle your mom's present, and you make her something? You can pick out something for your sister."

His eyes lit up. "Yeah! Mommy loves my cards! I'll draw her one with doggies!"

Maes took a step toward the candy, he knew Maeve loved coconut candy but he stopped and grabbed his dad's leg. Claudia was over near the stuffed animals, looking at them and making girly noises. She had changed into a cuter dress, yellow with ruffles, but this time she had a ducky purse.

"Something wrong?" Roy asked.

"She's right there," he said and pulled his daddy closer to the shelf so he could hide. He pointed in Claudia's direction. If she saw him now, she might ask him what he was doing there. Then, he would accidentally let it slip. Maeve told him he had mouth diarrhea once. To keep things safe, he had to play hide and seek, but not have a seeker player.

Roy looked where his son pointed.

Maes tugged on his pants. "Don't stare at her or she'll know I'm here. Thankfully, his daddy moved behind the shelf with him and waited quietly until Claudia and her mother left. Maes slouched against the shelf and narrowed his eyes at his dad. "Daddy, you are horrible at convert stuff."

"It's covert, Maes, and your mother tells me that a lot." He looked back toward the door. "So, that is the little girl you like..."

Maes straightened and puffed out his little chest. "Yep."

"What do you like about her?"

"She's pretty, and cute, and everything like that. And she has a ducky backpack and pencils and a purse." He noticed his dad look the way his mommy did when they did something only half-naughty.

"Well, what do you want to get her?"

Maes had expected a small scolding, though he didn't know why he would be, so his demeanor brightened when none came. "I don't know. Something really nice and cute." Maes wandered down the hall looking at all the stuff on the shelf until he came to a small bear holding a daisy. "That! Is it all right?"

"That's fine," Roy said.

Maes put it in the basket. "I have to get candies for Maeve!"

Roy searched the shelves beside him for a few seconds before removing a burgundy heart-shaped box from its display. "Here, this is coconut."

"Kay!" Maes said. "I hope they make her happy since she might be sad when she gets back from getting a needle."

"That's very thoughtful, Maes," Roy said as they got into line at the checkout.

"Aren't you going to get Mommy something?"

"I will later. At a different place. We have to get back before your mom gets angry at both of us."

Maes shivered. "Mad Mommy is scary. I bet she's especially scary to you, Daddy."

Roy stepped closer to the counter. "Why is that?"

"Because when she says they'll be no playtime, you get all pale and turn horny."

Roy set the basket on the counter and froze for a moment. Then he coughed and kept his eyes focused on the wallet when he removed it from his pocket.

Maes couldn't figure out why his daddy was blushing or why everyone around them was snickering. He would have to ask his mommy later.

-/-/-

When Roy opened the door and entered the office, Maes peered around the corner to make sure his mommy wasn't angry.

"Where have you two been?" Riza said as she came out of Roy's office.

Maes released an "eep" and rushed behind Roy's leg. His mommy wouldn't hurt him, but that didn't mean he shouldn't hide if he could. "We're sorry, Mommy."

"Maes, stop hiding, I'm not angry with you," she said. Since his mommy was using a gentle voice, he came out and stood beside his dad. Roy held up the bag of things they bought from the shop. "I took Maes shopping for a party his class is having."

"What? You took him?"

Maes rushed over to her and hugged her legs. "I needed someone who used to be a little boy to help me and you used to be a little girl so you couldn't help me. I still love you though."

She knelt and kissed his forehead. "It's fine, Maes. I was only surprised."

Maes looked around the room and spotted Maeve sitting at a table in the corner. She was looking down at a paper and had her favorite blue crayon in her hand. He turned to his daddy and motioned for him to bend down. Roy did so. "Daddy, do you think it would be okay to give Maeve her candy today since she got her needle today?"

Roy reached into the bag and pulled out the little heart filled with candy. "I don't see why it wouldn't be."

"Thank you!" He took the heart and ran over to his sister. Roy set the rest of the things on the desk. Riza moved over to his side and watched as Maes approached Maeve.

"He got his sister a present?" Riza asked.

"Yeah, I was surprised too. I never would've thought of that," Roy said. "He's selfless and generous like his mother."

"Why did he need a man to go with him? He usually has me help with his party things."

"I just helped him with the gifts. It's a Valentine's Day party and the parents need to bring something. I'm clueless on that."

"Ah, well, I'll make cookies. Now, why did he need a man?"

Roy laughed at his wife inquisitiveness. While Riza wasn't an overbearing mother, she did get possessive at times. Maes was a momma's boy, he'd known that from the moment his first words came out of his mouth: Bang bang. "Maes has his first crush."

Her lips flattened and her gaze looked as if he'd just told her he destroyed her favorite gun. "What in the hell do you mean?"

_I wasn't expecting a reaction like that._ "Exactly what it sounds like. He has a crush on a little girl."

Riza shook her head. "He's too young to have a crush."

"You're acting overprotective."

Roy braced himself for a response when she looked at him askance. "Me? Who was the one that brought Maeve home because she was playing sandcastle with a group of boys?"

"They were eyeing her."

"They were three years old."

"You don't know how boys' minds work. Sure, at three it's taking her bucket and pail, then at 15 it's trying to stick their spade into her sandcastle."

Roy cringed at his words and ignored the way Riza was looking at him, trying not to laugh, but letting a tiny chortle escape before she pushed it back. "He's not too young. It's not as if he's going to marry the little girl. "

"I didn't have my first crush until I was eleven."

Roy's mouth gaped. "But we didn't meet until we were teenagers."

She went around her desk and sat down; he turned his body so he could look at her. "I wasn't your first crush?"

"You have paperwork to do, sir."

"Who was he?" Even though she was eleven, he still felt a shot of jealously in him. Was it someone she dated later in her life? "Was it Tony?" That'd been her boyfriend before the guy got jealous and broke up with her. The idiot.

When she focused down on her work, Roy knew trying to figure it out would be a lost cause, but that didn't mean it didn't annoy him.

He hated crushes. . .


	3. More than a Ducky Backpack!

**Ducky Backpacks Don't Mean Love **

**Author: MoonStarDutchess**

**Chapter 3: More than a Ducky Backpack! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist. I do own my kid characters. **

**NOTE: The bad grammar from the kids is purely intentional. **

* * *

"Maeve?" Maes said with a chirpy tone as he approached his sister. She looked up from her coloring and smiled at him.  
"Hi, Maes."

He leaned forward and stared into her dark eyes. "You okay?"

"Yep, I'm okay."

Maes bit his bottom lip for a second and looked around as if someone were watching. "But you gots a needle."

"But it didn't hurt and they give you a sticker after you get it." She lifted her sleeve and showed him a bandage with puppies on it. "And you get to pick your own bandage."

"Still isn't worth getting a needle."

Maeve opened her book and took out the sticker. She handed it to him. "I picked this out for you for Valentine's Day since you like cars and stickers."

Maes took it and held it like one would hold a priceless artifact. "A sticker for me. You gots a needle and picked a sticker for me?"

Maeve shrugged. "It's not that big a thing."

"Yes it is! No one has ever gots a needle and given me the sticker for the needle they gots before." Maes then realized what he had in his other hand behind his back. He handed her the candies. "I got you candies because you had to go get the needle and it's Valentine's Day. It's coconut candies."

She took the heart and hugged him. "Thank you. Come on! Let's go sit on Daddy's couch and share."

"Okay!"

They rushed past Riza's desk, went inside Roy's office, and climbed upon the couch. Maeve opened the candies and let Maes take one before she shoved a candy in her mouth and started chewing. With a full mouth, she said, "Daddy said your class is having a party too."

"Yeah."

"Mommy and me got some for my class too even though I don't want to go that day. Mommy is making me though."

"You don't want to go because you don't have a crush. When you get a crush you'd want to go too."

Maeve paused in her chewing, her cheeks puckered with the candy. "Yuf haf a crush?"

Maes nodded. "Daddy even let me get her an extra special present."

Maeve swallowed. "Who is it?"

"Claudia."

Maeve took another bite of candy, this time not putting the entire thing in her mouth, so her speech wouldn't be muffled. "Why do you like her?"

"She's pretty and she has a ducky backpack."

Maeve pushed his arm a little. "That's silly! You shouldn't like someone because of a ducky backpack."

"It's not silly! She has a ducky backpack and that means Claudia is cool. And I like her because she's cool too."

"Humm, well our mommy is cooler right?"

"Of course, mommy is the coolest person in the entire world with daddy."

"Daddy likes mommy, and daddy likes duckies too since he has ducky slippers. Daddy and mommy have the best likes for each other ever."

Maes rolled his eyes. "Duh, why are you saying everything we already know?"

"I'm saying you shouldn't just like someone just because they have a ducky backpack."

Maes jumped off the couch. "You just don'ts understand because you're a girl."

Maeve shrugged. "I guess not."

-/-/-

Maes tried not to think much about what his sister told him at his daddy's office, but it was still in his head when he tried to sleep that night. As he lay in his bed, staring up at the glow-in-the-dark stickers placed on his ceiling, he knew he wouldn't be able to drift off until he talked to his daddy. He would have to get up. He hoped Mister Sandman didn't find out and become sad that his sand didn't work to make him sleep.

He slid out of his bed and put on his slippers—ducky slippers like his daddy's slippers— and walked down the hall, then down the stairs. From the middle of the stairs, he saw his mom in the living room reading a book. That meant that daddy was in his study place. He tiptoed to the side of the doorway, then after making sure his mom was focused on her book, scurried past it. He thought he'd made it but then his mother said, 'Maes, why aren't you in bed?"

His hands formed into fists and made a downward motion like he was slamming them on an invisible table. He walked back to the doorway and gave his mother an uneasy smile. "How do you always know, Mommy?"

"It's a mother's job. Do you need something?"

"I need to see Daddy for a little while. I promise on all my toys that I'll go to bed after I see him."

She put her book down and stared at him for a few seconds. Maes thought she was going to send him back to bed, but instead she said, "You're dad is out in the garage."

"Oh no." The garage was outside and it was so dark and scary.

She stood, went over to him, and turned him toward the door. "I'll walk you out there, and your daddy will walk you back."

He gasped and looked up at her. "Really, Mommy?"

She gave him that perfect mommy smile he liked all the time and nodded.

-/-/-

Roy looked up from his project when he heard a knock at the garage door. When he told the person to enter, his son came inside. Roy put down the bottle he was using and walked around the workbench. "Maes, you should be in bed."

"I know, Daddy, but Mommy walked me here since I need to talk to you."

Roy sat down on the chair next to his workbench and motioned for his son. Maes climbed upon his lap. "Go ahead."

"When did you get your crush on Mommy?"

Roy figured Maes' question would be in regards to that since he wasn't the type to focus on anything except problems regarding the present. He never remembered stressing out this much on a crush. He couldn't even pinpoint an exact time he fell for Riza.

"I don't think I ever had a crush on your mommy."

Maes' eyes widened. "You don't love mommy? But you said when that carrot person at the flower shop—"

"Maes, I love your mother," he cut in before his son overreacted, as he was prone to do. "Your mom and I were friends, and then after years of working together I began to realize how much I cared about her. I realized I loved her."

"Mommy and you were bestest friends first? But I thought that guy you named me and Maeve after was your bestest friend."

"He was a best friend, yes. Your mother was that and a little more. I spent more time with her than I had Maes. I knew more about her and knew her longer."

"You knew mommy when you were kids, right?"

"Teenagers. We were thirteen when we met."

"Oooo. That's was like prehistoric times."

Roy's eyebrow twitched, but he ignored his son's comment.

"But why do you like mommy? What made you want mommy out of all the people in the whole wide world?"

"Because she was there for me, loyal, and I can talk to her and not worry about feeling judged for the way I feel. I did some bad things that I regret and she understands that. She helps me when I feel bad about those things. She supports me in what I do, and in return, I do the same for her. I love her because of that and so much more." Roy and Riza knew they'd have to tell their kids about Ishbal eventually, before it was taught in their classrooms, but for now they were being vague about it.

Maes pointed at the ducks on his pajamas. "So it's not because she likes duckies?"

Roy chuckled. If he knew Riza wouldn't be mad at him, he'd tell Maes about Riza's fear of poultry. "No, ducks had nothing to do with why I love your mother. I do admire your mother's interests even though they're different from mine. That's important."

"That makes sense."

"Is that all you want to know?"

Maes nodded. Roy stood and lifted his son into a steady hold. "Now, it's time you get to bed."

"Okay, Daddy. I love you."

"I love you too, Little Man."

**-/-/-**

Maes ran to the gate where his mom and dad were waiting with Maeve. The Valentine giving had been so great. He got lots of valentines, even a ducky one from Claudia.

"Why is Ivy so sad?" Maeve asked when Maes came to them. Maes looked in the direction and saw Missus Ivy's mom was kneeling and wiping away Ivy's tears.

"I'll cheer her!" Maes said. He looked up at Roy. "Did you bring it, Daddy?"

Roy got the bear from the car and handed it to Maes. "Your little crush is coming," Roy said and pointed to the door. Maes looked in the direction and saw Claudia. "She's so cute," Maes said.

"Go give it to her," Maeve said.  
"Nope, it's not for her."

"Huh?"

"Oh no! She's leaving!" Maes said. He took off into a run. "Hey, Ivy!" Her and her mother stopped and turned around. He handed her the bear. "It's a special gift for someone I really really like."

The little girl blushed. "But I thought you liked Claudia?"

"She's cute and stuff and has a nice ducky backpack, but duckies aren't important."

"Thank you," she said. She looked up at her mom. "Mommy, can I give it to him?"

"Certainly."

Her mom handed her the box in her hands and took the bear. Ivy's blush deepened in color as she held out the box. "I was going to give it to you, but I was afraid."

Maes looked down at the gift. Through the see-through cover, he saw a cupcake decorated different from the other ones in the class. It was in green and blue and it had a candy car on top of it. "Wow! It's so cool!"

Ivy kissed his cheek. "I have to go now," she said and walked off with her mother before he could respond.

**-/-/-**

Maes started back toward his family, a blush covering his cheeks. Maeve ran over to him. "That was so cool!"

"It was so scared," Maes said. "But I listened to Daddy and went with the right person."

Riza looked at Roy. "What did you tell him?"

Roy pulled her closer and gave her a quick kiss. "That ducky backpacks don't mean love."

* * *

**AN: That's all for this fic. I hope you enjoyed it! XD Please leave a comment if you have the time. I would much appreciate it.**

**Also, my gratitude to everyone that has either faved, reviewed, alerted, or any combination of those for this story. **


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